For this top college athlete, tennis is the name of the game
Her name is just her name, even though it sounds like there might be something more to it.
Not even an old Hollywood starlet or a rare southern flower provided inspiration, which were my guesses.
"I really wasn't named after anything," Georgia Rose said. "My parents just chose Georgia randomly. I wish there was some cool story behind it."
Never fear. Rose has a cool story, all right. She's a junior at Northwestern and one of the best players on the nation's top-ranked women's college tennis team.
And that's just her present.
Rose, who is anxious to help NU navigate through next week's NCAA tourney as the No. 1 seed, has had an interesting life from day one.
Rose spent the majority of her formative years in north suburban Mettawa, but was born in New Zealand and lived in Australia, England and Dubai, due to her dad's job with British Petroleum.
"I loved living in all those different places," Roze said. "New Zealand was great, Australia was great, and I actually loved Dubai. It was completely different from anywhere I've ever been. The weather was so nice, my school there was great. I actually started playing tennis there."
Her mom taught her how to play. Barbara Rose is such a good athlete that tennis, which she taught at a club for many years, was her second-best sport. She grew up swimming and once swam for England's national team.
Both of Rose's parents are English, which gives her duel citizenship in England and New Zealand. Both parents are also great athletes. While mom was swimming, Graham Rose played semi-pro soccer in England.
And if that weren't enough, Rose's only sibling, younger brother Andrew, will play soccer next year at UCLA.
Never mind what's behind Rose's name. What's behind those genes?
"We were very competitive," Rose said. "My brother and I were always playing a lot of sports when we were younger. I liked soccer a lot, too. But when I was about 9 or 10, I realized I just liked tennis the most."
The Rose family moved to Chicago when Georgia was in sixth grade. After enrolling her at North Shore Country Day in Winnetka, her parents sought out a tennis instructor.
Mark Bey in Libertyville coached Rose through high school and spread the word with college recruiters.
"Since I didn't have (U.S.) citizenship, I wasn't allowed to play in all the big national tournaments, so my juniors record wasn't all that great," Rose said. "Mark really did a good job of getting my name out."
Ah yes, there's that name thing again. Her name intrigued NU coach Claire Pollard, too, but mostly because of the kind of player attached to it. Pollard knew she wanted Rose on her team.
"She just competes unbelievably well," said Pollard, who directed NU to a record 10th consecutive Big Ten title this season. "She can will herself to win."
Playing from the No. 2 singles spot, as well as on NU's No. 1 doubles team, Rose is ranked among the top 20 players in the country. She went 19-1 this season with partner Lauren Lui, and was 34-10 overall in singles play.
Rose was a big reason NU destroyed the Big Ten and rolled up a 26-1 overall record, earning its first No. 1 national ranking in history.
"Everything's come together so well," Rose said. "It's great that we won the 10th straight Big Ten title, and we would never take that for granted, but this year we're focused on something a little bigger.
"We really want the national title."
Then, the name Georgia Rose really would mean something:
National champion.
pbabcock@dailyherald.com
Barack has game
Although she won't divulge her official political leanings, WNBA star Tamika Catchings was gushing about presidential candidate Barack Obama this week on her blog.
While on the campaign trail in central Indiana, Obama met up with Catchings, one of her Indiana Fever teammates and some other local basketball players for a game of 3-on-3. Catchings, who starred at Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire before becoming an all-American at Tennessee, had to play the role of referee since she is still recuperating from surgery to repair a torn Achilles tendon in her right foot. But she got a great up-close-and-personal view of Obama's skills.
"He's not a huge man," Catchings said of Obama. "On TV, he seems so powerful and forceful and elegant…
"But when he got on the court, he had plenty of power in him. He's a darned good basketball player! I was told beforehand that Barack likens himself as a player to a shorter version of Tayshaun Prince… and my eyes opened wide at that comparison. But he truly isn't bad."
He also talked a good game.
Catchings said she was surprised that Obama knew who she was, and also knew that her dad (Harvey Catchings) once played in the NBA.
"He called me one of the best basketball players in the world," Catchings said. "It was amazing."
Time capsule
Recently eliminated from "Dancing with the Stars," former tennis great and novice dancer Monica Seles was asked if she planned on doing any more dancing.
"I think I'll let the blisters heal first," Seles said.
For Seles, much of her tennis career was about healing, having been the victim of one of the most stunning acts of violence in sports history. It was 15 years ago this week (April 30, 1993) that a deranged man stabbed Seles in the back while she was sitting in her chair during a changeover at the Citizen Cup in Hamburg.
Gunter Parche, a Steffi Graf "fan," saw Seles as a threat to Graf being the No. 1 player.
From that moment on, Seles' career was never the same. She won some tournaments after the incident but never went on to the dominance that was predicted.
Big weekend
The Northwestern softball team, ranked No. 11 in the nation, is hosting a huge series this weekend against Michigan State. If the Wildcats sweep, they'll get to host the 2008 Big Ten Tournament and share the regular-season title with Michigan.
Northwestern will face Michigan State today and Sunday, with both games starting at 1 p.m. The Big Ten Network with televise both games live.
-- Patricia Babcock McGraw